PSYCHIATRIC COMORBIDITY IN PRIMARY CARE SOMATIZATION DISORDER

Lifetime prevalence rates were calculated for comorbid psychiatric disorders in 119 patients who were referred from primary care physicians for unexplained somatic complaints and who met DSM III-R criteria for somatization disorder. Comparisons were made with general population norms from the ECA study. Prevalence of nine comorbid conditions was significantly higher than in the general population. The most prevalent comorbid diagnoses were major depression (54.6%), generalized anxiety disorder (33.6%), and phobic disorders (31.1%). The least common comorbid disorders were mania (4.2%) and drug abuse (4.9%); drug abuse prevalence rates did not significantly exceed general population estimates. Risk ratios were highest for panic disorder (16.25), major depression (9.41), schizophrenia (7.77), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (7.04).